Mumbai: The rupee opened on a weak note and fell 17 paise to 71.71 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday amid foreign fund outflows and cautious opening in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 71.65 then fell to 71.72 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 17 paise over its previous closing.

The Indian rupee on Wednesday had closed at 71.55 against the US dollar.

Traders said cautious opening in domestic equities and foreign fund outflows weighed on the local unit, while weakening of the greenback vis-a-vis some currencies overseas and easing crude oil prices added support to the local unit.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 770.81 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data.

Market regulator Sebi on Wednesday simplified KYC requirements for foreign portfolio investors and permitted them to carry out off-market transfer of securities.

The proposals were cleared by the Sebi's board during its meeting here as part of efforts to simplify and expedite the registration process for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading unchanged at 98.29.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.56 per cent in morning trade.

Domestic bourses opened on a cautious note on Thursday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 149.51 points down at 36,910.86 and Nifty lower by 42.80 points at 10,875.90.

On the global front, Beijing has appealed to the US to 'meet China halfway' and end the tariff war. According to reports a foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, expressed hope Washington can "get along us" and restore "mutually beneficial" trade.